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The Echo Show currently costs $200, down from its original asking price of $230. Amazon is hoping the temporary sale price will convince you to overlook the fact that the device no longer supports YouTube. Google removed its popular video service from Amazon's touchscreen smart speaker late last month, and it may never return. At the time, the search giant claimed the Echo Show violated its terms of service by creating a "broken user experience." But, just days later, news broke that Google may be mulling a similar product of its own (to add to its expanding Home line-up). Meanwhile, Amazon's device reportedly began plummeting down its sales chart as a result. A quick glance at its reviews show that plenty of customers are peeved that they can no longer stream YouTube videos on the Echo Show. So, is this a case of damage control? Maybe.

Does Alexa really need a screen? We put our Amazon Echo Show review unit through its paces to find out.

After last year’s Connections Conference, we wondered aloud if voice control is the future of smart-home control. The answer seemed to be “Yes, but…” We don’t need our Amazon Echo or Google Home to show us a picture of the light we’re turning off, but as things become ever more complex in our increasingly autonomous homes, screens will still have a role — as might gesture control, proximity sensors, and so on.

Enter the Echo Show, a digital assistant with a 7-inch touchscreen that can show you movie trailers, calendar, news alerts, Yelp ratings, and pictures of cats (if you ask the right way). We got our hands (and eyeballs) on the Echo Show to see if the screen opens up a whole new dimension to the voice assistant.

We had a feeling that the Amazon Echo Show was due for an update. With competition from Google Assistant via Lenovo’s gorgeous Smart Display and JBL’s Link View, which both feature better sound and display quality, Amazon needed to catch up.

The company delivered with the all-new Amazon Echo Show, an Alexa speaker with a screen (available for pre-order now with a free Philips Hue light bulb for $230, shipping on October 11). We got to spend some time with the new device, and Amazon is definitely back in the game.